He was coming off one of the great seasons in the history of the
Champions Tour. He had won five times, including two major championships
with virtuoso performances, and strung together enough records to reach
from here to his native Germany. Langer also became a multiple winner of the coveted Schwab Cup,
joining an elite group by adding a victory in 2014 to the one four years
earlier.
If an encore seemed a difficult task, it didn’t faze Langer. What he
produced this year, culminating Sunday with an unprecedented third
Schwab Cup, was remarkable in a different way. A year ago, Langer was
the frontrunner. This year, he proved equally adept at being the
pursuer. Langer lost a playoff to Billy Andrade at the season-ending Charles
Schwab Cup Championship but he had already done enough through 54 holes
to put a hammerlock on the big prize, another Charles Schwab Cup and the
bonus $1 million annuity that goes with it. Will Langer’s Cup runneth over next year? Is that the next encore? “I haven't thought about goals yet, but they're pretty similar to
this year,” said Langer, 58. “You want to win tournaments, you want to
win majors, you want to win this (the Charles Schwab Cup), Player of the
Year, money list. “There are plenty of things to play for. It's going to get harder and
harder as the years go by, I think, as I get older and the younger guys
are coming up, but there are always exceptions. There are always guys
that stand out like Hale Irwin and Tom Watson and a couple others, and
hopefully I'll be one of those.” The playoff was anti-climactic as it related to the Schwab Cup.
Andrade shot a final-round 64 and matched Langer, who shot 67, with a
14-under 266 total. It was Andrade’s third victory of the season. A
lipped-out eagle putt on the 72nd hole prevented Langer from winning
outright before Andrade won with a birdie four on the first playoff
hole. Share your comments on next year's Champions Tour and the Charles Schwab Cup here at the Pro Golf Tour.
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